The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-309934, which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side spacer in a connector and more particularly to a side spacer structure in a connector, which structure is designed so that a connecting terminal can easily be fitted into a terminal receiving chamber when the connecting terminal is fitted into the chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 6, a conventional female connecting terminal 1 has a contact portion 1a, which is the one molded into the form of a case by bending a copper alloy sheet. As shown in FIG. 7, further, convex portions 1b formed by bending the respective end portions of the sheet are formed on the upper surface of the contact portion 1a. 
The female connecting terminal 1 is fitted into a terminal receiving chamber 2a formed in a housing body 2. Then the front end projection 2c of a lance 2b formed in the terminal receiving chamber 2a is joined to the convex portions 1b whereby to hold the female connecting terminal 1 in the housing body 2 with the connecting terminal 1 prevented from slipping off.
However, with progress in reducing the size of equipment, there has developed a demand for reduction in the size of connectors themselves. In the case of the conventional connector as described above, it is hardly easy to manufacture such a housing body 2 and a female connecting terminal 1 that are smaller in size. Particularly as the lance 2b and the convex portions 1b are being rendered extremely small in size, a problem resulting from this arrangement is that molding the lance 2b as well as forming the convex portions 1b through bending work is difficult.
Further, as an area where the lance 2b and the convex portions 1b are joined together is on the decrease with a reduction in their size, the joining force tends to become deficient. In case where pulling-out force acts on the female connecting terminal 1, the lance 2b made of synthetic resin having a small retaining margin is scraped with the convex portions 1b. Another problem resulting from the arrangement above is that the female connecting terminal 1 may incompletely be retained in the housing body 2.
Still another problem resulting from the arrangement above is that it is difficult to ensure that a male connecting terminal is connected to the female connecting terminal 1.
In order to provide sufficient joining force, moreover, though a proposal has been made to increase an area where the female connecting terminal 1 is joined to the lance 2b by forming a large projection on the female connecting terminal 1, fitting the female connecting terminal 1 into the housing body 2 tends to become difficult because the projection constitutes an obstacle to the fitting operation, whereby it is hardly easy to form a sufficiently large projection on a small female connecting terminal 1.
An object of the invention is to provide a side spacer structure in a connector so that a connecting terminal can easily be fitted into a housing body and that by securely retaining the connecting terminal inside, the connector is prevented from being fitted in halfway.
(1) A side spacer structure in a connector according to the invention, comprises
a connector housing having at least one of terminal receiving chambers in each of which a terminal is accommodated;
the terminal including a first corner portion which is located at a tip end on an upper surface of the terminal in an inserting direction thereof into the connector housing and a second corner portion which is located on an upper surface of a tentative retaining projection projecting from the upper surface of the terminal; and
a side spacer mounted in the connector housing from a side thereof;
the side spacer including
an outer member having a U-shape,
a branch plate projecting from the outer member in a direction in which the side spacer is inserted to the connector housing, the branch plate provided with a tentative retention lance for temporarily retaining the terminal inserted into the terminal receiving chambers from a fitting side of the connector housing, and
a securing portion for securing the terminal in a state for operation;
wherein an inclination angle of a side edge of the tentative retention lance is greater than an angle of formed between an imaginary line connecting the first corner portion and the second corner portion and the inserting direction of the terminal into the connector housing.
With the above arrangement of the side spacer structure in the connector, the first corner portion of the upper surface at the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably abuts the underside of the tentative retaining lance, which causes the tentative retention lance to be bent upward and fitted in against the generated resilient force when the connecting terminal is inserted into the housing body. The connecting terminal is fitted in while making the tentative retention lance slide on the flat upper surface of the connecting terminal.
Therefore, the insertion resistance of the connecting terminal is set such that the connecting terminal can easily be fitted in with a constant sliding resistance until the tip end of the connecting terminal comes to contact the mating wall of the housing body upon completion of the insertion of the connecting terminal. The completion of the insertion can surely be decided by a sharp increase in the insertion resistance derived from the contact of the connecting terminal with the mating wall of the housing body, whereby the connecting terminal is prevented from being fitted in halfway.
(2) A side spacer structure in a connector according to the invention, the tentative lance may include a terminal abutting portion provided on the side edge thereof,
wherein the tip end of the connecting terminal comes to contact the terminal abutting portion when the connecting terminal is inserted.
With the above arrangement of the side spacer structure, the terminal abutting portion is provided in at least one side edge of the tentative retention lance. As the tip end of the connecting terminal invariably contacts the terminal abutting portion and makes the tentative retention lance bend upward when the connecting terminal is inserted, the tentative retaining projection formed on the upper surface of the connecting terminal can be inserted without contacting the tentative retention lance. Thus, the connecting terminal can easily be fitted in since the insertion resistance remains unchanged, so that terminal insertability is greatly improved.